OREANDA-NEWS. Small to medium enterprises (SME) will soon be rewarded for everyday transactions such as banking, buying insurance and getting their tax done as part of Qantas Loyalty's newest loyalty program, Aquire.

As a loyalty program tailor made for Australian SMEs, Aquire will allow businesses to earn Aquire Points via their everyday transactions, including travel. These Aquire Points can then be converted into Qantas Points in the name of an individual Qantas Frequent Flyer member.

Westpac, GIO Business Insurance and Deloitte Private have been welcomed onboard as part of an extensive group of launch partners ahead of the Aquire program's official launch on 30 March this year.

Qantas Loyalty Chief Executive Officer Ms Lesley Grant said she was thrilled to announce Aquire's diverse group of launch program partners.

“Aquire is the loyalty program for Australian businesses as members can earn points for doing many of the things they already do today,” she said.

“We'll add to our strong list of program partners and are also working with Chambers of Commerce and Industry across Australia to ensure each program partner is a good fit for small business."

Stephen Benton, Westpac Head of Consumer Finance, Product, Australian Financial Services, said Westpac is committed to supporting small and medium businesses who are the backbone of the Australian economy.

“Westpac's partnership with Aquire backs our focus on ensuring our customers reach their financial goals by allowing them to earn points for day-to-day purchases.”

David Hill, National Managing Partner for Deloitte Private said Aquire represents an excellent fit with our business given the Program's focus on the SME market.

“We know how competitive the market can be and therefore continuously strive to help our clients gain an edge in achieving their business and personal goals. Our involvement with Aquire will be unique among professional services firms and will add to the value we are able to provide to our clients” he said.

To date over 25,000 businesses have pre-registered for the Aquire loyalty program, which provides businesses with a central Aquire Points account that owners and employees can contribute to. Aquire members will be able to earn Aquire Points via their everyday transactions, including travel, which can then be converted into Qantas Points in the name of an individual Qantas Frequent Flyer member at a rate of 1:1.

Suncorp Commercial Insurance CEO Mr Anthony Day said that Qantas and GIO Business Insurance's rich history of serving the Australian business community ensured their partnership through Aquire was a natural fit.

“Small and medium businesses are the heartbeat of the Australian economy and, as such, are extremely important customers for GIO Business Insurance. The Aquire program is an outstanding way to reward these customers for choosing to protect their business against uncertainty with GIO Business Insurance,” said Mr Day.

Upon launch the Aquire program will offer SMEs a range of options on conversion of Aquire Points to Qantas Points that could have a positive impact on their bottom line, including:

- flights and hotels for a business owner and employees for work or leisure

- flight upgrades for a business owner and employees

- products, experiences and gifts from the Qantas Store

All Australia based small and medium businesses with an ABN can pre-register today via qantas.com/aquire.

Aquire's launch partners include:

Westpac

Earn Aquire Points when using a Westpac Business Choice Rewards Card.

GIO

Giving members peace of mind, a selection of business related insurance products from GIO will allow members to earn Aquire Points.

DeloittePrivate

Earn Aquire Points when engaging Deloitte Private for accounting, audit, tax, advisory and self-managed superannuation services.

Qantas

Travelling on an eligible Qantas flight will allow an individual to earn Aquire Points for their business as well as Qantas Points for themselves as they already do.

Additional launch partners include:

Avis

Budget

Macquarie Leasing

Qantas Freight

QBE

Randstad

Regus

Secure Parking

Snap

Staples

Work Force HQ

The upcoming launch of Aquire follows a series of new opportunities launched by Qantas Loyalty that allow Qantas Frequent Flyers to earn and redeem Qantas Points. These include Qantas Cash (the new pre-paid multiple currency function build into the next generation Qantas Frequent Flyer Card), Qantas Restaurants and Qantas Cruises. Qantas Frequent Flyer is on track to reach 10 million members this financial year.

Aquire program and partner Terms and Conditions will be available on the Aquire launch date on 31 March 2014.